THE SCAPE
These are not the people you are looking for," the young pilot said as he held his hand in front of the captain's face.
As in a kind of trance, the captain repeated what the boy said: "These are not the people we are looking for"
"Tell your soldiers that you only found boxes," said the young man, repeating the action with his hand.
"There are only boxes!" The captain shouted at the soldiers who were outside the ship.
"Take your partner and go," the young man said to the soldier and he took his partner who was unconscious and under the ship.
The pilot closed the door and started the engine, the girl sat in the passenger seat and started turning on the controls. It took time for the engine to turn on and the controls also took time, after all it was an old ship. They did not have much time to escape. The other soldiers would realize the deception; it was quite obvious that one of his companions had been knocked out.
Suddenly they heard loud cries from outside, "Hey, damn you, wait! They're on the ship!," it was the captain. He had regained his sanity and remembered who he had seen on the ship; the princess and the Jedi knights.
"We must get out!" Shouted the young pilot as he pressed the accelerator and shot out of the hangar.
The blasters tried to reach the ship, but the young pilot performed incredible maneuvers to avoid them. It seemed as if he could read each scenario perfectly. Almost like ... almost like a Jedi.
"How did you do that?" Obi Wan asked him as he left the closet where they had hidden along with Padme and Qui-Gon. He could not believe what he had witnessed. It had taken him almost five years to learn the mind control of the Jedi while this young man could do it without any effort and without apparent training.
"Who are you?" Obi Wan asked, still surprised at what he had just witnessed. He could not believe there was such a person outside the Holy Temple.
"Anakin Skywalker, this is my sister, Reyla," the young pilot said as he concentrated on dodging the lasers.
"You are a Jedi," Qui-Gon said, absolutely admired to have met a person with the skills that this young man showed.
"No. He's just good at those tricks," his sister said. You could tell she was nervous about the master's statement. Her reaction did not go unnoticed by Obi Wan and Qui-Gon.
Suddenly a movement shook the ship sharply, "They hit us!," Anakin yelled as he tried to lift up the ship's shields and maneuver to try to get rid of the rebels who were following them.
"They're chasing us, can you lose them?" Qui-Gon asked, although he was very sure about the answer that Anakin would give him.
"I am not bragging, but you're talking to the best pilot in the universe," the boy said, with a characteristically mischievous smile.
The lasers came from everywhere. They were closely chased by the rebels and it seemed a matter of time until one of them destroyed the shields, but Anakin lost them a every turn.
"Look out!" Padme shouted when in the middle of their escape she saw one of the castle towers collapse on itself.
The castle tower ...
Where she had grown up, where she had taken her first steps, where her father had told her so many stories; now it was burning. Everything she had known was lost and there was no turning back. Seeing her home burn, she knew, her father was dead.
Obi Wan recognized the expression of pain in Padme's face so he held her hand firmly, so that she could feel that everything would be fine, that while they were together, everything would be better.
But there was no time for sadness or pain, they had to escape. They needed to seek help in the Galactic Senate.
"Take that exit," Qui-Gon said, pointing to an opening in the rebels' defenses.
Anakin performed an abrupt maneuver that knocked everyone out of their seats, including Padme, who ended up over Obi Wan. The movements of the ship and the mental agility of the pilot allowed to cross the blockade without problem.
"Wo hoo!" Shouted the boy to see how great that break had been.
"Amazing," Qui-Gon thought as he assessed the boy's abilities. It seemed as if he could predict the future, predict every movement to the smallest detail.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by two giant ships blocking their way out. They were lost, there was no way to escape. They would become prisoners or worse ... they would die.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm going to activate the light speed," the boy said as he moved the buttons on the control panel. His sister did the same.
"Are you demented?" Shouted Obi Wan and Padme in unison. If they activated the light speed in those circumstances, the ship would disintegrate when striking against the rebel ships.
"Trust me," said the young man and activated the light speed while turning the ship vertically. The movement caused the ship's molecules to distort, and for a brief moment, they passed through the enemy ships like a ghost.
At that speed, they managed to get away from Naboo without problem, away from the rebels who sought to destroy them.
They escaped ... almost unharmed.
...
A shadowy figure ran through the hall of the Royal Palace in ruins, the flames had consumed the entire interior of the building. The figure moved so strangely, it seemed as if it floated above the rubble.
"We found the girl, she is dead," said one of the rebel soldiers.
"Good to see you, Darth Maul," said a man with an almost insolent tone. It was Dorian Marlow, the leader of the galaxy's most important mercenary army, the Contras, a military affiliation that used to be involved in almost all inter-planetary conflicts. It was even rumored that, in some cases, the group had been responsible for these conflicts.
But the group did not only have military control, but also economic control. They controlled the largest mining companies in the Galaxy and their influence could be felt in every corner.
In spite of his great stature and physical complexion, Marlow moved with great agility among the ruins of the castle, being careful not to dirty his neat shoes.
"Dead, huh?" Marlow said as he examined the girl's body carefully. Analyzing each part meticulously.
"Yes sir," said the soldier proudly.
"Are you sure?" Marlow mentioned slowly, mockingly as he picked up a piece of red cloth that was among the girl's remains.
"Excuse me sir?" Asked the rebel soldier, somewhat confused.
"The red cloth is characteristic of the maidens in this area ... Tell me, how is it possible that a princess has such an inelegant cloth like this?" Marlow said as he threw the piece of cloth to the soldier's face.
"I did not notice," the soldier mentioned fearfully. Hw knew that Marlow was not a man you wanted to get into arguing with. After all, his reputation as a torturer was known.
"You did not notice," Marlow said and let out a sigh of resignation, "Why do I have such incompetent people?"
"Excuse me?" The soldier said fearfully. Suddenly two big hands grabbed his neck, taking out the little air he had.
"Control yourself," Darth Maul said in an almost imperceptible voice, like a sigh.
Marlow threw the boy into the rubble, with such force that he broke his neck.
"You're right," Marlow said as he wiped his hands with a handkerchief, "forgive me"
Darth Maul was a chilling man, he did not distance himself so much from Marlow. His penetrating gaze could pierce the steel and the tattoos on his face, not to mention the horns on his head, were enough to scare away anyone.
"The Force should not be used for such insignificant things," Darth Maul mentioned as he covered the corpses of the King and the maid with his cloak. He did not do it because he felt sorry for them, no, he would never do that. He felt admiration for who had been the King before, he did it out of respect.
"If you get to the capital, this whole operation will be in vain, we need this planet to prove our theory and if the Republic gets to know ... well, they better not find out," Maul told Marlow, who immediately left the room followed closely by his soldiers.
…..
"We need to find a safe place," said Master Qui-Gon as he looked at the maps on the ship's central computer.
Everyone was nervous. Apparently during the almost suicidal maneuver of Anakin, one of the engines came into contact with one of the ships and was broken. That could only mean that part of the fuel was leaking.
"We were lucky that the ship did not break apart," Obi Wan said as he put a bandage on Padme's hand. During the sudden movement during the escape she had injured her wrist.
"We can find refuge on Tatooine, we're not far from there," Padme said as she reviewed the rest of the maps with her healthy hand.
"We will not go to Tatooine," Anakin said brusquely, causing displeasure in Obi Wan.
"It's the closest place and they will not find us, it's no man's land," said the young Padawan, looking at Anakin straight in the eye. His anger was noticeable in the pupils.
"No man's land, that's right, it means that it's dangerous, besides who you are to decide, it's my ship," Anakin said equally annoyed, "besides, you could be criminals for all I know, and I'm offering you refuge here."
"You're right, we've been discourteous, my name is Qui-Gon Jinn, they're Obi Wan Kenobi and Padme," the master said cordially. However, Obi Wan realized that he deliberately omitted the princess's surname. "Yeah, they still did not know if I could trust them," he thought.
"We appreciate your help," Padme said in a friendly manner, trying to break the tension that was forming between Obi Wan and Anakin.
"A pleasure," Reyla said, equally aware of the situation between the two boys.
"Tatooine is our only hope ... With the fuel we have left, going anywhere else would be dangerous, please Anakin, I would not ask you for this if it wasn't our only option," Padme said.
Anakin could not resist the logic of what she was saying. He could not refuse either. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, "I can leave you there, but as soon as me and my sister can leave, I will leave.
"It seems fair, Anakin," Qui-Gon said as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Excuse my brother, he's nervous about returning, we're fugitive slaves from Tatooine," Reyla said as she passed a bottle of water to Obi Wan.
"REYLA!" Anakin shouted. He did not want to share that information with strangers.
"They need us as much as we need them Anakin and for everything to work out we need to be honest with them, and I make the decisions, remember?" The boy could not say anything against his sister. She was right, they had to help each other to survive on Tatooine.
Suddenly they heard the engine alarm. Now it was impossible to stay in the air. They had to land as soon as possible. "There is no choice," said Obi Wan.
"Yes, there is no option," said Anakin, "Tatooine." It hurt his soul to return. If they were discovered they were dead, but if they did not land, surely they were dead.
Certain death outweighed possible death.
... ... ...
The landing was relatively calm. They hid the ship outside the main city and walked through the desert. Padme had an idea to hide the identity of Anakin and Reyla. He took two helmets that were in the ship and created masks, one black and one white.
"This way, if someone sees you, they will not recognize you," said the young princess as she handed the black mask to Anakin.
"Thank you," the boy said as he held the mask in his hands. It was particularly terrifying and intimidating, with big black eyes and bars instead of a mouth. He felt a strong premonition when placing it, as if it were a cursed objectt.
Padme handed the white to Reyla, who only covered half of her face and both siblings covered their heads with fabrics that combined with the clothes they wore.
"Ok, we need to find Watto's store, where we can find the parts we need," Anakin said as he paid the toll to enter the city gates, "We must be imperceptible, all rumors run like fire in this damn city."
"I know, please trust us, we will never risk your life or your sister's life," said Obi Wan, trying to alleviate the rough edges they shared a moment ago.
"Thank you," Anakin said. He could feel the sincerity in Obi Wan's words.
"Well, how are we going to pay for the spare parts?" Reyla said. Suddenly, everyone in the group began to look at each other with a face of disbelief.
"Only now do they just realize that we're broke?!" Anakin yelled. Suddenly the fury that had calmed down a moment ago clouded his head again. He knew that after landing the ship it would be almost impossible to take off again.
"I knew I had to throw them to their fate! Damn!" Anakin said as he hit one of the walls with his fist.
"Anakin, calm down, breathe in. You know what happens when you lose your temper," Reyla said as she held her brother's hand.
Qui-Gon could see that the water that was in one of the vases near them had began to boil and the glass of one of the vehicles burst.
"Brother, enough!" Reyla said. Suddenly Anakin came out of his trance and calmed down.
"Interesting," Qui-Gon thought.
"Excuse me, I do not know what happened to me," Anakin said as he lifted the mask and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"So ... how much money do we have?" Padme asked. Nobody answered.
"Ok, then we'll sell this," Padme said. It was her mother's necklace, the one she never removed from her neck.
"You can't do that," said Obi Wan. He knew what that necklace meant to her. He could not let her sell it.
"It's our only option, I know what you're thinking, but it's all we have, my mother would have wanted us to use it to save Naboo," Padme said as she held Obi Wan's hand.
"We can sell my lightsaber," said Obi Wan with pain in his face.
"No!," said Qui-Gon annoyed. It was the first time that Obi Wan had heard him raise his voice.
"We need our weapons to protect her," said the master. Obi knew that was not the real reason behind his surprise anger. A Jedi could not separate from his lightsaber in any way since it represented a part of his soul.
"Sorry for being an insolent master," Obi said ashamed.
"It will not be enough even if we sell your light Jedi thingy," Anakin said mockingly.
"He is not yet a Jedi," Qui-Gon said. The rigidity of the master's tone of voice made Anakin feel a little bad for Obi Wan. He could tell he was still upset.
"The price is very high, we will not be able to pay it, even if we sell you necklace," Reyla said. She was beginning to think that all this had been a terrible idea when suddenly something caught her attention.
"Wait, I got it," Reyla said tearing a poster off the wall, "Pods racing, quick money, lots of money"